Revived
by abbiehatch
Summary: Julian is back, but does not know who brought him back to life. Something is moving in the shadows and has it's eyes set on Jenny...
1. Chapter 1

One year after the Games and Jenny felt better than ever. It was a warm, bright afternoon in July and Jenny and her friends were having a pool party at her house. Summer, still as innocent as ever splashing Dee constantly in the pool. Michael and Audrey were sunbathing and Zach was busy with his camera. Jenny looked around and it was as if nothing had ever changed. But it had, mostly to Jenny, but they all had something just slightly different about them. Jenny looked at the ring, twisting it round her finger. She hadn't taken it off once since the last Game, and had realised that she had had feelings for Julian, despite how much she had denied it before.

Jenny peered over to Tom. He had noticed the change in Jenny most of all, and some part of her knew that the ring still made him nervous, made him distant. Jenny had thought that after the Games they would stay together, after all they had gone through so much together it was hard to recall everything. But it hadn't turned out quite as she had expected or hoped. Almost three weeks after when Jenny refused to take the ring off Tom began to realise that Jenny had not just loved Tom, but Julian too. Jenny tried to explain to him the things that happened in the cave to make him understand, but he wouldn't listen to her, or maybe he didn't _want_ to. Anyway, things got out of hand and they decided to take a break from each other for a while until things cooled down. They hadn't got back together since.

Jenny had told the others about Julian's, well, true-ish and also hidden character, and they accepted it when she recalled him sacrificing his life for her. Jenny had always remembered one line when he was dying in her arms: "nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten" and Jenny had never forgotten him. Not once.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Dee. Jenny hadn't realised that she had just been staring at nothing for about ten minutes.

"Can we talk? You know, just us and away from everyone?"

"Yeah, sure."

Dee and Jenny walked up to her bedroom after Dee had dried herself off. Jenny always knew that she could count on Dee for anything, and she needed someone to talk to.

"So, what is it you want to say?" asked Dee, knowing that Jenny had had some kind of deep thought. Dee could understand. Jenny had been through a lot, but in the end the guy who she had grown to love had just disappeared, literally.

"I've been thinking about him again Dee, and I can't seem to shake off the fact that I can't ever see him again. It's been eating away at me; I know I have denied these feelings before, but they've just grown stronger. Tom looks at me as if I'm a stranger and I just can't handle it," said Jenny, breaking into a small sob.

"Oh Jenny," said Dee whilst she put an arm around Jenny, "you never know, he could come back. Anything is possible, I think you of all people know that."

Jenny sighed. She wished she could just steal that rune stave and carve his name back on, but the Shadow Men would probably try to take her before she got anywhere near it. Jenny dismissed the thought. It would never happen, not ever.

"I guess so. Sometimes I wonder what things would have been like if he _had_ come up to my door and just asked me out, then told me the truth later."

"I'm sure that would have been better for all of us. I mean what was he thinking? Sometimes even I wonder things about him: what he would be like if he was human? Would he be an evil arse or would he be nice? I guess we'll never know. And I've noticed that Tom has grown distant from you and started to look at other girls."

This didn't surprise Jenny. Things would never be the same after _that_ fight. It would never cool off and even though Jenny was angry at Tom, she felt happy that he was able to move on. If only she could do the same, especially when it came to Julian. Her feelings for him had grown and grown in his absence and she missed his element of danger and playfulness.

"Yeah, I've noticed and I'm happy for him," she snapped, "although I am a little envious that he has had the strength to move on with his life, you know?"

Dee nodded, and they both sat there in silence as the sun started to make its way towards the horizon.

After sunset the group went inside, all except for Tom who said that he had some work to do. Summer dried herself and changed into a mid-length, turquoise dress, with the rest of the girls in skirts (except for Dee who was in shorts) and the guys in shorts and vest tops. Jenny and Dee decided to keep their conversation to themselves as it could make the atmosphere a little awkward for Jenny. They were all glad when the evening came because the temperature cooled down a lot; they were tired of the heat of the afternoon. Audrey ordered the pizza and they all sat down together round the coffee table. They chatted with each other about how school was over, the latest music, any holidays that they had planned with their families, but it soon turned to smaller conversations between them. Jenny was absent-minded, lost in her own thought when she heard a knock on the door. Tom? unlikely. Her parents were away for the weekend, so it couldn't be them.

"I'll get it. I think there's some films in the cupboard if you if want to watch one?" Jenny announced.

She looked around at them and they all looked fine with the idea, so she strolled over to the front door. Jenny opened the door and saw nothing. Then, the knock came again, but this time from her upstairs in her bedroom. _What the hell?_ thought Jenny, laughing. She climbed the stairs as she began to feel nervous. jenny was halfway up when there was another knock, but from the door again. _Okay this really isn't funny now, _thought Jenny. She opened the door again and peered outside, looking left and then right. That was when she saw him. It was Julian and he was back.


	2. Chapter 2

Jenny couldn't believe it. Maybe she had fallen asleep in the living room. She pinched herself and nothing happened, so she knew she wasn't dreaming. How could it even be possible? Jenny knew his name would obviously be back on the staff but who did it? That was a question that definitely had to be answered.

"I'm just going outside for a bit, I've got a massive headache and need to get some air," shouted Jenny, a poor excuse, but she had to think of a reason why she was going out of the house.

"Okay!" came the reply from Summer, followed by the various responses of the others.

She closed the front door behind her and started walking towards Julian. Jenny could not stop looking at him. His eyes that were of an indescribable blue, a blue that only his eyes could possess. He was smiling at her, and it was joyful, but had a hint of mischief to it. No matter how much Jenny had tried to deny it in the past, she had always liked the playfulness in his smile. But he wasn't just smiling now, he was moving towards her at the same pace as she was towards him. They met in the middle of the road; there were no cars nor the slightest sound or hint of traffic for a few miles.

Jenny kept her eyes fixed on his until they came close to each other, almost touching. She had mixed emotions; confusion, joy, sadness, excitement, surprise. It had felt like a millennia since she had seen him die in her arms, but she was surprised that he hadn't made some kind of grand entrance.

"You told me once," said Julian in his lyrical voice, "that if I had come up to you and asked, then things between us might have been different and more simple. That maybe you would have been able to warm up to me like that. So, I thought I might give it a try instead of playing a game.

"You were right about my true character, and I felt that just because I was a Shadow Man then that was how I had to act - evil, cruel, forceful. But you taught me to be who I am.

"Jenny, I love you and now I'm asking."

Was this some kind of confession? Jenny didn't know what to think. All she knew was that this was the Julian she had loved and she wanted him to stay. Without much thought Jenny kissed him softly, and felt his slight hint of surprise, but it didn't last long. In a flash he was kissing her back, but with emotion like in the cave. Neither of them pulled back as the kisses got hotter. They pulled each other closer and Jenny embraced it. After a few moments they both stopped and stared at each other; Jenny had never got used to Julian or his perfect being. She was glad he was back.

"Jenny? You okay? You've been ages…!" shouted Dee as she jogged out from the front door.

Dee froze and turned a whiter shade as if she'd seen a ghost. Jenny blushed slightly and mimed for Dee to come over.

"I'm just going to check on Jenny!" she called to the others, hearing faint words of agreement in reply.

Dee sprinted over to Jenny and almost started shouting at her to ask her the obvious. How was he back? Why was he back? How long? etc. However, Jenny gave her a pleading look to not tell anyone. Julian stood behind Jenny.

"Look Dee, I'm a little shocked too okay…" started Jenny quietly.

"Shocked?! _That's_ the understatement of the century!" snapped Dee. She turned to Julian. "And would you like to explain how in hell you are breathing?"

"If I knew I would have told Jenny…and you, but sorry to disappoint but I don't know who carved my name back on. I am just as surprised as you that I'm alive."

Jenny had told Dee about her feelings for him, but not the others and this issue probably had to be addressed.

"Jenny, how are we going to tell everyone? I mean we can't just walk into the house and say 'Oh by the way Julian's back, Jenny has feelings for him and they are now a couple.' Though it would be funny to see the surprise on their faces," said Dee a little loudly.

Jenny thought for a moment. She would have to sneak him into the house or something just until everyone had left. But what if someone went up there…or he came down? That was just spelling trouble. But she couldn't just leave him out here, so that was her only reasonable option. She would just have to tell everyone later, and tell him to stay upstairs or something.

"We could keep him upstairs, just until everyone is gone so that I can think of a way to explain things to them," explained Jenny as she turned to Julian, "but you can't come down until I say. Got it?"

Julian nodded, while adding with a grin, "I see you kept the ring."


	3. Chapter 3

Jenny decided that it would be best to sneak through the back door, as it would avoid passing the living room and the risk of being seen. They silently crept through the door and up the stairs and luckily no one noticed. They reached the bedroom when Dee said,

"I've got an idea. Okay, when I go back down, I'll say that you feel really ill and we all need to go home, then you can sort things out and think about how you're going to explain this to everyone. You have a bit of time though, because we're all going away for a few days so I'm sure you'll have something by then, right?"

"Yeah, of course. But my parents get home _tomorrow_! What the hell am I going to say to them?!" exclaimed Jenny.

"Like I said, I'm sure you'll think of something," replied Dee hastily as she jogged downstairs to tell everyone about her being 'ill'.

Jenny sighed. Out of everything that had happened to her, this was going to be the hardest. Harder than the Games. Harder than anything. She had only just thought about what to tell her parents; they were going to be back tomorrow in the early evening, and Jenny was starting to panic. Her dad would ask all the impossible questions like: when did you first meet? Where? Is this a bit hasty after Tom? Do you know him well? and all the rest. There was no way that she would be able to keep a consistent story. Maybe she could just leave Julian to explain. _Wait no, bad idea, what am I thinking?_ thought Jenny. He would probably say the truth and her parents would think he was crazy or something.

The footsteps of her friends downstairs caused Jenny to lose her train of thought. They were making a lot of noise as they got their swimwear and left the house. Silence crept in and Jenny could feel Julian staring at her. Jenny had always worked well under pressure, but this was totally different. When she had held secret pool parties hen her parents had gone away previously, it was easy to hide the evidence and tell a one-off lie. But she would have to create a _whole_ story. She had done this when Julian had taken Summer, but she had had the help of all her friends. This time it was just her…and Julian.

"So, what now?" asked Julian, breaking the silence.

"Honestly, I've got no idea. Although for starters I think yoyo should know how to behave around…well…humans."

"Fine, but I already know quite a bit. After all I did used to watch you. Watch how you behaved and such. So, if I were you I wouldn't worry about that," replied Julian with a tone of confidence.

"Well…that's…err…good to hear," said Jenny hesitantly, "could you help me make up a story to go with your existence then?"

"You? Asking for my help? Now that is a first."

He winked, and Jenny couldn't help but smile. Nothing had made her happier than to see him act like himself and not feeling like he had to be anything else. She was also glad that he still had his element of mischief and danger; that he could still cause chills up her spine with his evil grin.

"Well, I suppose we better get started."

And with that they both sat up all night, letting their imagination mould the story into one that was possible and believable.


	4. Chapter 4

Morning came and Jenny realised that she had fallen asleep on Julian's chest. Her head moved up and down in time with his breathing; it was smooth, constant. She almost fell asleep again when Julian sat up. Her was smiling at her, and his eyes looked tired. Had he been sleeping? Jenny hoped so. His hair was scruffy and he looked even more perfect than usual.

"Have a good sleep did you?" asked Jenny.

"Better than normal, how about you?"

"Great."

Jenny got up out of bed and realised that she was still in her clothes from the day before. She dragged herself to her wardrobe and picked out some dark blue jeans and a white laced top.

"Just wait here while I get changed okay?" asked Jenny as she walked to the bathroom.

"Sure," replied Julian with half a tired smile.

Jenny shut the door behind her, undressed and tied her long golden hair into a bun. She turned the shower to a hot temperature and got in. The water felt relaxing on her skin, and she hardly felt the heat. She quickly washed herself and got out. Who knows what Julian could be doing? He could be searching through her things this minute, and she was not going to let him do that. No way.

After getting changed and throwing her dirty clothes in the laundry bin, she made her way across the hall to her room. To her surprise Julian was still on top of her bed, in the same position at which she left him. Relief surged through Jenny; at least he hadn't been up to any mischief.

"I think we need to get you some new clothes. You can't be seen wearing the same thing everyday," said Jenny in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Hmm? Right okay," replied Julian, mimicking Jenny's tone exactly.

"Well you better get up then…"

"Make me," said Julian, teasingly.

Jenny couldn't help but eyes were closed, so she crept up to the bed and grabbed a pillow. She hit him, or tried to. His arm stopped the pillow before it reached him, and Jenny felt no surprise in it.

"Nice try."

He turned over and winked at Jenny, before grabbing another pillow and hitting her back.

"Hey!" exclaimed Jenny.

"You struck first."

Before they knew it both Jenny and Julian were having a pillow fight, hurling pillows and ducking and dodging them in turn. Jenny had never had a pillow fight like this, and with Julian? Who would've thought?

After a few minutes, Jenny explained to Julian that they had to go out and get him a whole new wardrobe. He seemed reluctant at first, but accepted it because Jenny meant so much to him. Jenny knew it would be very strange to him, but she was sure he would get the hang of not watching people from the shadows, but actually being a part of the crowd. It was a long walk from her house to the nearest street of shops and her parents usually dropped her off. But Jenny didn't mind, she would enjoy teaching Julian about everything, even if he had seen it all before.


	5. Chapter 5

Jenny and Julian had been walking for almost thirty minutes now, and Julian was listening closely to Jenny, trying his best to take in what she was saying. There was so much to learn, but it was harder to do, and Jenny could see that he was finding it a little difficult to cope. She constantly made him practice with her, and they were both enjoying every moment of it, even if Julian was slightly confused. They turned the corner and reached the main street which was full of shops, but thankfully less shoppers. Most people in this area went on holiday around this time, including all her friends. But she was on the look out for Tom. Not necessarily to avoid him, but to show him that she was happy and enjoying her time without him. Dee and Audrey had always said this was the best kind of revenge, so she was going to give it a try.

Jenny took Julian into every shop, getting him to try things on. His preferred style was obviously the darker colours, but she didn't mind. He tried a range of things: jeans, leather jackets, shirts, v-necks. In the end, Jenny bought Julian a leather jacket, a few pairs of black jeans, and some plain t-shirts in white, navy, black and grey. He seemed to like them and Jenny was glad, and also relieved, as she had payed for all this herself. _Now time for a drink_, thought Jenny.

Jenny decided to take Julian to a small café, where it was just the two of them. There was no one in there as it was right at the end of the street on the corner, where hardly anyone went. She got a vanilla milkshake for each of them and they sat down one table from the window. Jenny urged Julian to give the milkshake a taste, and when he did he said it was amazing and kissed her.

"This is the most fun I've had in a very long time, thank you," said Julian softly, in his musical voice.

"No, thank you."

He kissed her again and then they continued talking about everything, mainly about how shocked everyone was going to be that Julian was back. Then something happened. Someone walked into the café with Jessica Watson, a girl from Jenny's year. Jessica sat herself down near the back of the café, and Jenny noticed who was with her. Tom. _Time to show him I'm better without him, _thought Jenny.


	6. Chapter 6

Tom turned after he had finished ordering at the till, and Jenny found the look on his face priceless. It was full of anger, confusion, hate, jealousy, shock. Jenny turned and continued talking to Julian, and she could sense Tom staring in disbelief at her even after he sat down with Jessica.

"Tom's just walked in," whispered Jenny.

"I noticed. What do you want to do about it?" asked Julian, a mischievous tone in his voice.

"Let me see… I have an idea…"

Jenny kissed Julian and she could tell he knew it was coming because he reacted instantly, as if he had read her mind. It lasted long enough for Jenny to see Tom look uncomfortable out of the corner of her eye.

"I think that did it," said Jenny softly.

Julian smiled in agreement and they both burst out laughing. Jenny saw the sunlight hit Julian's white hair and illuminated his eyes so they were brighter than ever. She wished she could have captured that image and put it in a frame; it was the most beautiful scene she had ever seen, and he was having such a great time. Jenny hadn't had this much fun for a while, and to have Tom see her happy with Julian was such an incredible feeling, and she was sure Julian felt the same way.

After they had recovered from their laughter, they finished their milkshakes and left Tom to register what had happened. Jenny gave Julian another kiss before they left the café and this caused Tom to be unable to look at them. The walk home felt shorter, and by the time they got back to Jenny's house the sun was very low in the sky. That was when Jenny saw her parent's car in the driveway. Panic surged through her; she had completely forgotten that her parents would be home early that evening. She stopped in her footsteps and Julian asked her what was wrong.

"My parents are home and I completely forgot!" Jenny took a deep breath, " I guess it's time for introductions."

As they approached the door, Jenny secretly hoped they wouldn't ask her all the difficult questions and just left her to it. Hopefully they would just ask his name and how they met, and leave it at that. She unlocked the door and shouted 'Hello!' into the house.

"Hi Jenny!" came the reply from the kitchen.

Jenny led the way towards the kitchen and Julian followed.

"Where've you been? I thought all your friends were going away…" started Jenny's mum.

That was when Jenny saw that she had noticed Julian standing behind her.

"Oh yeah, sorry. Mum this is Julian, Julian my mum," said Jenny quicker than she meant.

"Hey," said Julian to Jenny's mum.

"Hi there," replied Mrs Thornton.

"I'll go and put this all upstairs," said Julian to Jenny, as he grabbed the bags full of new clothes and made his way upstairs.

"So," said Jenny's mum teasingly, " who's this young man?"

"His name is Julian. We bumped into each other when I went shopping with Dee a couple of weeks ago, you know, when we went to choose Summer a birthday present? And we've been talking and it's all been uphill from there really," explained Jenny casually, praying that she wouldn't ask anything else.

"Oh right, well I think I best leave you two to it then," said Mrs Thornton, "I hope he doesn't leave you like Tom."

"I'm one hundred and one percent he won't," replied Jenny with a smile. Before her mum had a chance to leave the room, Jenny said that she was going to go and meet Dee and stay over with Julian that night, and her mum was fine with the idea, as long as she rang them when she got there. Jenny acknowledged the request and set off upstairs to tell Julian the new, spontaneous plan. Dee wouldn't mind, she had said all of her friends were on holiday, but she excluded Dee because her parents went away today on a romantic cruise or something. Dee had not wanted to go; it wasn't her thing.


	7. Chapter 7

Sprinting up the stairs and into her room, Jenny saw that Julian had made himself comfortable; arms behind his head, body stretched out onto the bed. He turned his head as he heard Jenny come in

"How did it go?" he asked, interested if her mum had bought the story.

"Great.." she said as she stumbled around her bag looking for he phone.

Julian could see she was looking for her phone and got up and helped her search. Eventually they found it under the bed where it must have fallen out of her bag. She explained that they were going to spend the night at Dee's where they could be away from her parents so that they could sort out how to explain this to the rest of her friends. Julian was hesitant at first, but agreed in the end. Jenny was very pleased that he accepted whatever she thought was best to do.

Jenny typed in Dee's number and rung her.

"Oh hey Jenny! What's up?"

"Can I come and stay over with Julian please? I need to keep away from my parents while I decide how to tell everyone about him. Please?"

"Yeah sure, no problem! I'll get a room ready. Come whenever you want! Bye!"

Jenny hung up and started to pack an overnight bag with all her essentials and spare clothes. After packing her own bag, she started packing Julian's bag. She got all the new clothes out of their original bags and neatly folded them into the new one. It didn't take long, and before she knew it she was walking out the door in her cardigan and her sandals with Julian. She shouted goodbye to her parents and left the house.

Dee's house was only a twenty minute journey on the bus; Jenny and Julian managed to walk it in forty. Dee greeted them both and showed them into the spare room. It was quite spacious and Dee had managed to put a spare mattress on the floor for herself ready for the long night ahead. Jenny threw her bag and Julian's bag under the double bed and then sat on top of the duvet. Julian sat beside her and Dee opposite them.

"You'd never guess who we saw today Dee," started Jenny, breaking the silence and sensing Dee's awkwardness towards Julian.

"What? Who?"

"Tom. With Jessica Watson, you know the red-head?"

"No way!"

Dee knew that Tom had been looking at other girls, but Jenny could see that she was quite shocked. Jenny had been shocked at first too, but that had left her the minute she had started kissing Julian. Dee asked what she had done and Jenny explained plainly what happened.

"That's my girl!" said Dee, laughing.

No one understands anything quite like Dee, thought Jenny, relieved by Dee's reaction. She continued and told Dee about going shopping and that Julian enjoyed his first vanilla milkshake and how her parents knew etc. When she had finished Dee told Jenny how she had been bored all day and was over the moon that Jenny had called to come over.

"Now onto the main reason why I called, we have to - or should I say _I _have to - figure out how to tell the others. They are going to be so shocked, and have lots of questions that neither I nor he can answer."

"Okay. To be honest we might as well tell them the truth and all together, because if we lied they would find out eventually," suggested Dee, "And besides, they do have an understanding of how you really felt about him so they should be able to take it in. They will definitely be a bit shocked and surprised, but they should hopefully find a way to get around it."

"Well that was quick. Quicker than when me and Julian had to decide what to tell my parents - that took forever!" exclaimed Jenny.

"For something that was so short, I agree," added Julian.

They all laughed and Jenny was so grateful that Dee accepted Julian even after everything, because Dee understood that that wasn't him being himself. She wasn't sure how well the others were going to take it, although she thought that Summer would find it easiest. As weird as it sounded, Summer was the one who was able to forgive and forget the best, and Jenny was praying that they would warm up to him. She still had a few days left, so she would just have to pass the time with Julian and Dee. But what were they going to do? Maybe Julian could teach them about his world and Jenny and Dee could teach him more about theirs. _Yes_, though Jenny, _that is a great idea_.


	8. Chapter 8

Jenny rang her parents the next morning to tell them that she was staying over at Dee's for a couple more days, and her parents dropped some more clothes round. They didn't seem to ask any questions about it, but only insisted that she kept safe. Jenny said it was fine and they were gone as quickly as they had arrived. Now it was onto the tedious, yet exciting bit.

Jenny suggested her idea to Dee and Julian and they were both thrilled to start. They took it in turns to ask Julian questions and vice versa. The first thing Jenny learned was about all the different runes and their meanings, uses and symbols. She already knew two, but there were quite a few more, but Jenny managed to take most of it in. Next, Julian asked about what school was and how they both managed to remember everything that they were taught. The two girls laughed and explained everything to him and the methods of the dreaded revision at the end of each year. He seemed puzzled at first but eventually understood what they were saying. It was a great few days and they all learnt a lot from each other, and Dee seemed to accept him more as a friend than an enemy.

It was getting dark, so Jenny decided that Julian and herself should be making their way back to Jenny's house. Dee was a little reluctant at first, however she made them promise to visit or call her, and Jenny said that she would. They packed all their things and helped Dee tidy the house, before saying goodbye and heading back to Jenny's. They were half-way home when they heard someone behind them. It was quiet, with a dog-walker here and a jogger there, but when they turned to see if there was anyone there, no one was in sight. Jenny and Julian carried on walking, but they heard a rustling in the trees next to them, and this time it was louder. It could just be a coincidence, but Jenny knew better; things like this were never a coincidence, both in films and life. Jenny was starting to get nervous and felt her heart beating faster. Julian could sense this and told Jenny that he would check it out.

"I'll be back in two minutes," reassured Julian, giving her a quick kiss before disappearing into the trees.

_Don't panic, keep your head clear. It's Julian for god's sake! He'll be fine,_ thought Jenny. But curiosity and worry overwhelmed her and soon she found herself going through the trees after him. That was when she saw him, a few deep cuts covering his chest. Was he…fighting someone? There were two figures now: Julian and a jet-black haired, pale-skinned guy. He was just under six-foot, the same height as Julian. His eyes were a strange mixture of grey and green, but she was certain he was a Shadow Man; who else would want to fight Julian? And more to the point who else even _knew_ Julian - or that he was back - apart from Jenny and Dee? Jenny continued to watch the fight unseen from the safety of the trees, before Julian managed to throw the other Shadow Man into a thick tree trunk, severely hurting him; he was so weak he was unable to get himself up. Julian limped towards him, his cobalt eyes bright with rage, the rage that he had only ever shown Jenny during the Games.

"Do you mind telling me what you're doing here? My life is none of your business," said Julian with an extremely aggressive tone.

"My name is Luke and I was sent after you, although specifically after that gorgeous golden girl of yours," replied Luke just as menacing as Julian was aggressive.

"Why? You don't have a claim anymore. So what possible reason would you have for coming here?"

"I told you. Don't forget she took three, which means two more claims are still our for the taking. Don't forget, rules have loopholes."

Luke winced in pain. Julian thought for a moment.

"You will leave. Don't come anywhere near her or I swear the next time we meet I _will kill you_. Hurry up before I change my mind."

In an instant Luke has disappeared, and Julian turned to Jenny.

"You can come out now, he's gone and won't be coming back for a while."

Jenny slowly came out of hiding and then ran towards him. She could see the blood oozing out of the cuts in his chest, and noticed there were more up his right leg.

"We need to get you back to my place, we can clean all this up there," explained Jenny as she helped him onto her shoulder and carried him the rest of the way.


	9. Chapter 9

When Jenny and Julian arrived at Jenny's house, her parents were more than helpful getting the first aid to help patch up Julian. Jenny told her parents that they were almost mugged, but Julian took care of them and they ran. Her father was furious and asked if Jenny had seen their faces, but she said she hadn't. _There was only one person but okay_, thought Jenny as she helped clean the last of Julian's wounds. They seemed to have almost healed, which gave Jenny a slight feeling of relief and she was able to relax a bit more. Afterwards, they both went up to her room and discussed what had happened. Jenny was in slight shock, but Julian kept her close so that she would feel safe, and she did. Julian seemed slightly stunned too; he hadn't expected anything like this to happen. And to think that they had bent the rules to having the right to claim another two! That was just insane, even Julian thought so. He knew how to bend rules himself, but he would never take it that far.

Jenny could see him thinking, trying to figure out what to do next. The Shadow Men obviously wanted revenge, but to want it so badly that they were willing to bend their own rules? _Well, that really is an extremity_, thought Jenny. The pair looked at each other, communicating with no words, and yet Julian could see Jenny's hint of fear and vice versa. They still had the problem of telling Michael, Audrey, Summer and Zach, and now they had Shadow Men after them, what could possibly happen next? Jenny dared not think of it; she knew that almost anything was possible, so thought it would be best not to dwell on the worst-case scenarios. Her friends would all be back the next day, so it was just a matter of taking it one step at a time. She needed to talk to all of them at the same time, so she asked her parents if she could phone them all to ask them something.

After her parents agreed she spent the next half an hour ringing them all; Zach was in London, Summer was in Italy, Michael was in New York and Audrey was in Germany. She said she needed to meet them all at four o'clock the next day at the park around the corner from Dee's house and they were all okay with it. Well, everyone except Summer who said she would be really tired; they all arrived early back home so they had time to get a bit of sleep before meeting Jenny. At the end of each phone call, she said she had a bit of a surprise when they got back, and before they could ask what it was she would say goodbye and hang up. It felt nice to leave them all in suspense, that way they would all be very eager to meet with her.

After all that over with, Jenny got changed in the bathroom into her pyjamas, whilst Julian changed out of his bloody clothes and into some fresh ones. When Jenny came back he was wearing all black, loose clothing. He smiled at her and she returned it, before dumping her old clothes onto the floor and climbing into bed. Julian slid in on the other side and wrapped his arm around her waist, puling her closer and kissing her softly on the neck. Jenny buried her face under his chin and into his chest and let herself drift off.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning came quickly, although not slowly enough for Julian. He had spent the whole night worrying about all of Jenny's friends' reactions when they found out. Would they be more surprised to find him alive, or that he and Jenny were together? The question had made him nervous and the thought of it kept him uneasy. Jenny shifted in her sleep and started to wake up.

"Julian? You awake yet?"

"Yes," he said, his voice shaking a little too much than he liked. Even after only a few days with her, Julian knew her morning routine. She'd get up, shower, get dressed and then have breakfast; today wasn't any different. However, she did seem very anxious and he didn't blame her, but he admired her courage. He sort of understood how difficult it must be for her and after all that he put them through, put _her _through, he wasn't sure if he would ever forgive himself. Julian changed into some black, torn jeans, and a very loose grey shirt, along with a heavy leather jacket.

It was already 11 o'clock and Jenny could hardly believe she had been asleep that long. Okay, she'd had a tiring few days but she rarely stayed in bed for that long these days. Jenny had changed into a lacy, white cotton top along with a short black skirt. When she came back to her room, Jenny saw that Julian had changed; she told him to take the jacket off, he looked much better without it. It was a little cloudy outside and Jenny was grateful that it hadn't been raining, but the wind was quite strong. She had planned on spending the next few hours before meeting her friends outside, maybe she could stay at home instead. Except there was practically nothing to do; there was the TV and some books, but that was a little boring. Maybe she would just go to Dee's, after all Dee was going to have to help her a little with introducing Julian. So it was decided, they were off to Dee's.


	11. Chapter 11

It was mid afternoon when Jenny and Julian got to Dee's. Her parents still weren't back, judging by the driveway which had no cars on it at all. The pair strolled up to the front door and rang the doorbell. No sound. _Must have broken recently_, thought Jenny, so she knocked. No answer. Jenny knocked again, this time quite a lot louder. Still no answer. Jenny looked up at Julian and noticed that he seemed on edge. His eyes were darker than usual, alert.

"Let's try the back, it's always open," suggested Jenny.

Julian nodded and followed Jenny through the gate to the left side of Dee's house and through the back door, open as usual. Jenny was about to call out to Dee when she noticed that the kitchen was completely trashed. Smashed glass, table overturned, cutlery and china littering the floor. Panic started to fester inside Jenny. Julian grabbed Jenny by the shoulder before she had taken a step forward, slowly moving past her to investigate. His eyes scanned the kitchen, before he and Jenny moved to look around the rest of the house. Nothing was tidy; every room was a wreck, as if something strong had decided to go on a rampage. That was when Jenny noticed something she had sen before. Something Julian had used in the seconds Game. One large section of the living room was darker, a perfect circle in the exact middle of the floor.

"Julian…"

He turned around and Jenny pointed to the darkened area and they both knew. Dee was gone and they had no idea where. Even if she was in the Shadow World, they would never get there without the other Shadow Men knowing. The big question was, what next? Jenny suggested that they call on the others to check that they were all okay.

Jenny and Julian visited Zach's first, no sign of him either. Jenny asked his parents to see if they had gone out anywhere, but the reply was that they thought he had gone to meet Jenny. Jenny reassured them saying that he must have not got her text and be down by the park. This was the same for everyone. The last stop was the park. Maybe they had all gone down there early, and Dee's place had been burgled or something less sinister than what Jenny thought. Jenny was hit with a big sense of worry when they reached the park. No one was in sight. Not even a single animal was there. The silence was deafening, creepy, unnerving. Suddenly, the sound of thunder broke the silence, making Jenny jump out of her skin moving closer to Julian. The ground opened up underneath them to show an all too similar gaping hole. As they fell down into the shadows, Jenny grabbed onto Julian, determined not to let go no matter what happened.


	12. Chapter 12

*Dee's POV*

When Dee woke up, her muscles ached. The fight she had put up had been very exhausting, even for her. She let her eyes adjust and she realised that she was in a dimly lit room. One antique lamp shone yellow light into the relatively small room. There were other people there, staring at her but she soon realised that it was only Audrey and Summer and…Jessica Watson? She was going to say something to them, but her lips didn't move. Her energy was really quite drained. She could hear low voices to the right from the other side of the pale grey wall. It sounded like Michael and Zach, along with a quiet Tom. She instantly knew that they were all in big trouble. Although at first she suspected Julian, she dismissed the thought as this wasn't exactly his style. He was a more _sporting_ type as Jenny used to constantly remind her. No this was something else. The other Shadow Men out to get revenge? Maybe they were just being plain rude and evil, although evil was a big understatement.

"Dee are you okay? You seem tired…for once," said Audrey, her voice shaking.

"I'm fine. Are Michael, Zach and Tom on the other side?"

"Yes. They're fine except Tom who seems less shaken than everyone else."

"_I _think he knows something, and even I'm not _that _smart. He hasn't really talked to anyone since he got here…"

"Hey Audrey, is Dee there?" shouted Tom, his voice a little muffled by the wall between them.

"Yeah, sure."

Suddenly a small opening between the walls appeared. _How convenient_, thought Dee. She crawled towards it and called for Tom to get himself over there.

"What?" asked Dee, curious as to why Tom would want to speak to her without giving her a chance to rest.

"Did Jenny tell you?"

"If your talking about _him_, then yeah," said Dee as quietly as she could, "but you absolutely _can't tell anyone_. Jenny was planning on telling them today but obviously that's not going to happen. And anyway he is most likely not the one doing this."

Tom stared at Dee. He had accepted Julian at first, but began to also accept that Jenny and him wouldn't ever be the same. Not really.

"Why not?"

"Why not?! Well for one he's showing his true colours to Jenny, and two he's been with Jenny this whole time!" shouted Dee in fury at Tom.

If the hole in the wall had been bigger she would have hit him. Tom was looking past Dee and then she realised just how loudly she had shouted. _Dammit_, said Dee under her breath.

"Dee, what do you mean? What's going on?" asked Audrey with a quizzical look.

Dee shot Tom an annoyed look, but he just shrugged. It was as if he wanted everyone to know, embarrassing both her and there will probably be uproar when they meet up with Jenny again.

"It's nothing, I was just a little angry, nothing to worry about," reassured Dee, but she could tell that they weren't buying it. She only ever got angry at something if it was personal or if it was something serious or secretive; there was no way she was getting out of this one.

"Tell us. Please? We promise we won't tell anyone," pleaded Summer, her eyes wide with curiosity. Dee sighed. They were going to find out sometime, or they wouldn't stop pestering her until she told them. She hoped Jenny wouldn't explode with anger when she found out.

"Okay, but you can't shout at Jenny…" started Dee.

Dee explained to them what she knew right from the beginning of Jenny's party, her getting 'ill' and the rest. There were mixed emotions from the minute Dee had mentioned Julian. It went from utter shock to understanding to gob-smacked. Summer was the most accepting, although she was older since the Games, her innocence was the same. Dee was almost jealous at how she could just forgive people and move on; for the others it was much harder. They hadn't seen Julian and the way he really was, especially with Jenny. She was certain that they wouldn't understand until they saw them together, not in the forced way, but out of choice. After she finished explaining, a loud thud was heard behind her on the other side of another of the four walls. A gap formed into this wall, too.

"Well speak of the devil look who it is!" said Dee with a little sarcasm.


	13. Chapter 13

*Jenny's POV*

The two of them fell onto a cold, hard surface with a loud thud. Jenny had land seconds, on top of Julian. They caught each other's eyes and just stared. In the dim, yellow light his hair turned a little golden; it was all messed up from the fall and Jenny couldn't help but continue staring. She didn't know how long their eyes had been locked in place, but she heard Dee's voice.

"Jenny! Wow what a coincidence!" exclaimed Dee, "any idea about what's going on, or are you as clueless as the rest of us?"

Jenny told her about Luke, the Shadow Man that had pursued and whom Julian had beaten to a pulp. Dee acknowledged this and replied to Jenny that everyone was here. Jenny was suddenly on edge, asking Dee if she had told about Julian.

"Don't shout but yes I did. But before you can argue, you were going to have to tell them anyway, at least they aren't as shocked as they _could_ have been when we saw you and _Julian_ fall through the ceiling!"

Jenny considered this for a moment and accepted that Dee was right. The others hadn't made much of a fuss against Julian. That changed in a heartbeat when Audrey spoke out towards Jenny.

"He isn't behind this is he? Because I swear if he is…"

"Surely, Audrey, if I was behind this, why would I trap myself as well as all of you?" answered Julian before Jenny had even processed the question. It was a valid answer, after all he had been with her the whole time. Jenny decided to re-explain the Luke story to the others, then Audrey and Summer passed onto Michael, Zach and Tom. Jenny noticed Jessica, being comforted by Summer who was telling her that everything was going to be fine and that they had 'got out alright before'. Out of everyone, Summer still had her innocence, and Jenny was grateful that Summer was able to accept the situation easier than the rest of the group.

Suddenly, the gap in the wall disappeared, and Jenny could hear muffled voices from the other side. She heard a very loud _thump_ which she guessed was Dee trying to punch a hole through the wall or something along those lines. The room seemed darker now, much darker than she liked. She felt Julian tense and saw the bright cobalt blue flare of danger in his eyes. Something was up. Jenny turned to see where Julian was looking and she saw Luke. His eyes were darker, though more green than anything. His left arm was covered in what looked like…bark? Jenny tried to dismiss it as just a large scab, but it was clear that her bark thought was right. Jenny felt an anger simmer inside her, she wanted to lash out at him, but she knew from experience that you don't want to physically fight a Shadow Man.

"What the hell even is this?!" said Julian sternly, his tone cold and hostile.

"Why not?" replied Luke, "After all, in case you haven't noticed, I'm being a good sport and giving you nine hours exactly to find your way out. After all, that's what you did. Let's see what it's like for you to be playing your own Game. You'll find each person as you go along, no rules except no use of the voids. You two can start together."

And with that he disappeared, and in his place a gap in the wall, as wide as a regular door frame. Darkness poured out of it, and Jenny started forward. Julian followed her, worried for Jenny and, strangely, for everyone else too.


End file.
